Pearls of the Deep
by PhantomInspector
Summary: AU. Belle and Ariel, two curious mermaids, yearn for adventure beyond the sea. But Ariel becomes desperate when she falls in love with a human prince and goes to the Sea Witch for a potion that will make her human. The price if she fails to win her love: her life. Belle will do anything to save her friend and help her earn True Love's kiss - even make a deal with Rumplestiltskin.
1. Chapter 1

Can't believe I finished and uploaded this chapter instead of working on homework. Where are my doggone priorities? As if I don't have enough OUAT fics on my plate already. Oh well. This will be another sort of long work, so expect many more chapters. Enjoy!

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Mermaids have to be careful whenever they breach the ocean surface. Their humanlike skin consists of tiny scales the same shape and substance as their tails; it glitters and twinkles in the sunlight. Seabirds are sometimes drawn to it as they are to shards of glass, forsaken jewels or metal trinkets strewn across a beach. Human eyes can catch the light, too, which proves far more disastrous.

So Belle was careful to swim at a deep level until she met the rock shelf of her hidden cave. Feeling along the wall, she soon reached the shielding darkness of the recess. Only then did she dare rise up and poke her head above water. Cautious still, she looked around. No sign that anyone—human, mermaid or other—had slipped in recently. There was nothing but a tunnel that extended about half a league before ending in a smaller, landward entrance half-submerged and clogged with marina detritus. The inside walls sloped down into outcroppings that let Belle to climb up and lounge on the wide ridge. The curved ceiling shaded her. Once she stretched out and pushed her now flattened brown hair out of her eyes, Belle flopped over and pulled aside a large rock that blended with the rest of the cave. Its removal revealed an abscess, the contents of which remained protected in darkness until Belle withdrew them.

She should've remembered to shake the water off her hands first, but Belle was too eager to examine her treasures. They'd been waterlogged to the point of ruin, it seemed. Nonetheless she'd tried to dry them in the hope that something of their original forms could be salvaged. She tugged out a short stack of leather-bound, crinkled books, and ran loving wet fingers over their covers. She waited a moment with bated breath before opening the book on top.

Her heart fluttered, then sank. The pages were stained with smeared lettering that was beyond legible. Each leaf felt as brittle as a dried shell, warning her to handle them with extreme care. She turned them over to discover the same tale: whatever story or information the book contained was lost. At least until Belle found a page decorated with a once detailed illustration of . . . something. She squinted hard at it. There was lots of green and blue and streaks of brown. In the very middle of the page a collection of brown and gray splotches formed a shape Belle gradually recognized. It was a castle – a land castle, not like the royal palace in Atlantica or the other lofty fortresses the nobles of King Triton's kingdom occupied, including her own family. Narrower, taller, sharp and pointy, whereas the sea castles sprawled with handlike protusions thanks to the coral used to build them. Belle wished she could discern the castle's surroundings. The blue must have been sky, and the green and brown . . . some kind of forest? But she noticed another streak of blue, darker and with an eel's body. It slithered through the mess. Wait, she knew what that was. It was . . . a river! She gasped and giggled, delighted with herself. Oh, if only she could have seen the picture when it wasn't a swamp of ink and seawater.

She kept her eye out for more illustrations, but her interest always returned to the bleeding letters. Pictures were helpful in deciphering the subject and content of these books, but they couldn't replace the import Belle knew she would've gained from the written word. What things could they tell her that pictures could not? Was it a history of the castle and the kingdom it resided in, or one person's story? Maybe of the king who lived there, or a princess, or a servant who observed all from a discreet distance and spilled the truth of their lives here, free of the veil of bias. Belle desperately wanted to know. After a while she sighed and set aside the tome in exchange for another. The same story, except this one had no pictures. The tips of her reverent fingers traced the wrinkles and obscured lines of the pages. Just feeling them ignited a spark of enjoyment. She loved how _dry_ they felt. How weighty and grounded, yet so fragile. She loved them for all these things. She loved the mystery and dreamed more than anything else of someday reading one and learning how they looked, felt and smelled without salt and moisture imbedded in them.

This dreamy mood swept Belle away from the world, and it made her oblivious to the movement near her tail. By the time her instincts alerted her to another presence, it was too late. Something grabbed and dragged her down. Belle dropped the book on the dry shelf before the waters closed over her. She vigorously flapped her tail and twisted until she was free and she could meet her attacker face to face.

Bubbles of laughter—actual bubbles filled with girlish giggles—billowed into her face. "Admit it, I got you!" cried the red-haired mermaid swimming beneath her, well out of arm's reach.

Belle huffed. "Don't you think we're getting old for this?"

The pretty creature, Ariel, flashed her friend a pearly smile. "Ariadne would be impressed with my stealth and tracking skills. She might even let me oversee the scavenger hunt at the next Summer Festival."

"Your life's ambition, no doubt." Belle tossed a wary glance around even though they were beneath the sheltering swells. If Ariel managed to follow her here, who could say no one else had? "Are you sure _you_ weren't followed?"

"Absolutely." Ariel performed a restless loop-de-loop around the older mermaid. "Your secret is safe. But I'm a bit upset you didn't think to share it with me in the first place. After I showed you my treasure trove—"

"I know, I know." Belle ducked her head and dropped toward the sandy bottom of the cave. There wasn't as much room to swim around given the breadth of the cave and how close they were to shore. That meant she had more difficulty escaping Ariel's accusing aquamarine eyes, or the hand that clenched around her wrist and hauled her upwards when she tried to retreat. Belle's only defense against Ariel's inquiry and feigned hurt was a sheepish smile. "I just didn't want to jeopardize you further. It's one thing to hide away all the things you found in that cave—at least it's at the bottom of the ocean. But this place—it's more dangerous for just one person, let alone two."

Ariel surrendered her pout for a coy smirk. "I'm not afraid of being seen by a human, if that's what you mean. I thought you weren't, either."

Oh, her friend was incorrigible. Against her better sense, Belle laughed. She should have approached this situation with much more seriousness. That's how a responsible mermaid, particularly one endowed with the friendship of Princess Ariel, ought to behave. The young royal, on the cusp of her sixteenth birthday, was more of an influence on nineteen-year-old Belle than she liked to admit. Still Belle laughed and couldn't really regret her foolhardy comradeship with the daredevil princess.

"I'm not so much afraid of humans as I am of your father."

Ariel waved away Belle's words. "Don't worry so much. He's not going to find out so long as we're careful. Now, stop holding out on me and show me what you have!"

Belle did. She showed Ariel her own collection and instructed her on how to handle the delicate items. The younger mermaid showered the books with smiles like the ones Belle knew she'd given them, but before too long Ariel's interest waned.

"How can you lie here and stare at them for so long when you can't read or even see the pictures properly? At least I have that globe and those other gadgets. I'm still trying to figure out how that thing with the numbers and the black pointers works. You need to come by again and take a look at it."

"Oh, I'm no good with things like that." Belle shook her head while returning the books to her secret nook. "That's why I like these so much, I guess. I'm putting things together with my imagination instead of my hands." She spared a second to look at said hands—lovely but inept. Her glass harmonica and garland-weaving skills left much to be desired. "I can spend hours imagining what they can tell us about the human world. But I need to keep looking for more that are in better shape."

Ariel had since rolled onto her back and started caressing the damp rock they rested on with one hand. The other wrapped her coral-colored hair around her forefinger, as it often did when she mulled over something. Suddenly she gasped and propped herself up while letting her tail slip back into the water. "Hey, I think there's still an unopened chest in the cave. Maybe there are books in there. It's worth a look."

The suggestion brought on a surge of hope Belle didn't want to quell just yet, even if sense told her to. She broke into a smile. "All right. A quick look, and then straight back to the palace. I don't care if you're convinced your father is in the dark—I can't handle any more of his _disapproving_ grimaces."

The princess' silver laugh filled the cave. No one in all the kingdom had a voice as lovely and pure as Ariel's. It enchanted merfolk and mostly certainly would've enchanted humans if given a chance. From time to time Belle despaired a little at how low and rough her own voice must have sounded in comparison. She didn't envy Ariel—at least she tried not to. It just would've been nice if she possessed a special talent of her own to make mermen's heads turn. Alas, she had only her hungry curiosity for all things human and land-bound, which Ariel fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) shared in. For that Belle could never resent the sweet princess who flapped her tail to splash her before diving deep and fast.

The older mermaid followed closely behind, though her movements were not as graceful. Ariel's lithe form shot through the water like an arrow and nearly lost Belle a few times. A voice in the back of Belle's mind whispered that if she didn't do all she could to keep up with her, Ariel would someday land in more trouble than she would be able to handle. The thought pushed Belle to boost her speed.

* * *

Today was Ariel's sixteenth birthday. The kingdom had more than one reason to be a flutter with excitement over the occasion. For one, it would be the last royal sixteenth birthday celebration until one of King Triton's daughters had a child. The king therefore decreed a lavish spectacle with banquets, performances, parades and a ball. No expense was spared for the youngest daughter. Her sisters seized the opportunity to lovingly tease her for what could be interpreted as nepotism, which immediately flustered Ariel to the point of making her cross. Of course as the youngest it was expected that her father spoiled her the most, but that wasn't the whole story. She was also the most reckless, the most recalcitrant, and the most insubordinate of her family. Her father loved her very dearly, but he'd endured many a headache after worrying and then lecturing her for her behavior. And today, one of the happiest occasions in Atlantica's history, King Triton showed signs of enduring yet another headache in his daughter's presence. It embarrassed Belle a little that she was witnessing it as well, but his majesty _had _summoned her.

"My dear Ariel," said King Triton, trying to tamper gentleness with firmness, "my decision has been made. There is no arguing your way out of it. It's for your own good."

"It's not fair!" Ariel cried. "Everyone else gets to do it by themselves!"

"That's because they have more sense and less stubborn curiosity than you."

Harsh words, but probably necessary ones. Belle couldn't fault the king for being honest with his daughter, particularly when he felt so concerned for her.

Ariel endeavored to swallow her shrill tone and tears, and Belle immediately felt her alliance shift again. In terms of logic, assigning Ariel an escort for when she went up to the surface made perfect sense, but she knew how much this hurt her friend. It stung to know her father didn't trust her despite the fact that his fears had grounding in experience.

"Daddy, I promise I'll behave. I _promise_. I'm sixteen now—let me prove I'm responsible!"

King Triton's deep, ponderous eyes watched the distressed princess. Belle thought she saw their resolve weaken a smidgen. "I wish I could believe that, dear. I really wish I could. But how many times have I found out about you wandering off to parts of the kingdom that are not safe for a person of your status? Or safe for _anyone_, honestly?"

Had it been any other day, Triton would have employed a more booming voice and a more aggressive stance. Today, however, this exercise in parental control weighed heavily on him. He leaned on his muscular hand on the armrest of his giant clam shell throne. Belle studied his weary figure until his gaze flitted to her, to which she responded by staring at the floor. Triton was a good ruler, but he had something of an infamous temper. Even if it meant deflecting some of his aggravation away from Ariel, Belle did not want to become a target of his anger by provoking him.

After a quiet moment, a still upset Ariel raised her head to meet her father's eye. "Who's it going to be? Not the entire army, I hope."

Sighing, the king ran his fingers through his long white beard. "I was thinking your sisters could go with you. Not all of them—just the ones I know who will keep you in line."

Ariel's cheeks turned pinker and pinker with rage. "This is horrible, Daddy. I'll never live this down—my own father doesn't trust me on the day when I'm finally being considered an adult."

"Adulthood is not merely a matter of numbers," her father retorted. "It's also about actions. About doing the right thing even when you're tempted to do otherwise. You have to _earn_ respect and trust now."

"Then . . . then . . ." Ariel whipped her head around, frantic. When her eyes fell on Belle, an icy stab of terror impaled the older mermaid through the gut. Oh, no. She wouldn't, would she?

"Then, Daddy, let Belle be my escort. I trust her with my life, and you can, too. She won't let anything bad happen to me . . . or let me do anything bad." The small hint of a repressed giggle tainted Ariel's tone as she pronounced the last portion of her plea. Belle crumbled inside. Oh, this would not end well. She would happily accompany Ariel to the surface, but to pretend that she was the most promising antidote to Ariel's impish ways would have been a devastating lie, and one that would make Belle blush if she dwelt too long on the thought of it.

With the king's attention suddenly fixed on her, of course, Belle held her composure. She knew how to reel in some self-restraint at court, what with her noble status and her father's attentive grooming. Personally Belle was tired of conversing with high-born merfolk who thought they knew and understood more of the world than they did. A presumptuous thing for a nineteen-year-old mermaid to think, yes, but Belle had a few advantages to justify her feelings. She'd read more than most people she'd met, and it was evident in the limited range of topics they tried to entice her with: recent courtly affairs like marriages and inheritances, the tides, and the latest shell or seaweed ornaments with which to adorn their otherwise fairly naked bodies. Belle remembered seeing pictures of human clothes, which were at the same time laughably outrageous and immensely fascinating. The climate above water must be more unstable and less forgiving for humans to require so many different types of garments, and for so many different occasions. Belle appreciated their diversity, though, which was more than could be said of the fashions of Atlantica's nobility. But it wasn't fashion that interested Belle. It was history and accounts of far-off places that she was eager to converse on. Why did hardly anyone else share her curiosity? Why only Ariel? It made her seriously wonder now and then if there was something wrong with them.

Even though her mind buzzed with such musings, Belle withstood the king's stare with a dignity that somehow continued to impress others. If only they could guess what occupied her thoughts while she awaited judgment under their scrutiny. Ugh, why did most everyone fail to penetrate the surface of things, including hers? For Belle, appreciation would have outweighed humiliation. She wanted to meet someone who could intuit her frustration with the people around her and their lack of enthusiasm for the wider world. Fear, it seemed, kept most merfolk deep below the surface. If it was a question of bravery, Belle wished she could summon up enough courage to share with all of her kind so they could finally be free to explore the world above, plumb the annuals of its history and meet its inhabitants.

King Triton's voice plucked Belle out of her heated meditations. "Lady Belle, I know you are my daughter's beloved and trusted companion. You are also the child of a widowed father, so you may be able to understand my concern. Sir Maurice has recounted to me your accomplishments and qualities."

Belle didn't know what accomplishments he was talking about, but she allowed the king to continue.

"I do not lightly entrust my daughter's well-being to anyone. If you agree to accept this special task, you will be burdened with a great responsibility. Are you prepared to take on such a yoke?"

Whether she was or not did not feel like it was her question to answer. Then again, who could? But Belle grasped the weight of a different kind of responsibility when she looked at Ariel. Her friend's eyes, as clear and bright as the underside of the ocean surface when the midday sun beams through it, pleaded silently with her. They overflowed with desperation and hope. Ariel wanted so much—not just this, but what the event signified. They had snuck up to the surface a handful of times with the utmost discretion. This, however, would be the first visit condoned by the king and the law. It touched Belle that Ariel trusted only her with this occasion, and that it meant so much to have someone there who would both understand her desire and not be so compelled to restrain her from seeing as much of the surface as she could for this all too fleeting moment.

Belle preluded her answer to the king with the briefest smile to Ariel. It was gone when she turned back to Triton. "Yes, your majesty," she said, imbuing her voice with sincerity. "I would give my life to protect Ariel. You have my word that I will not let anything happen to her."

* * *

About fifty leagues away, and about a hundred leagues downward, the inside of a crystal ball danced with the images of Princess Ariel and her friend Lady Belle floating in the presence of his majesty, King Triton, ruler of the Seven Seas. Black and purple tentacles held and caressed the smooth globe. A husky chuckle filled the dark chamber.

"There she is," the Sea Witch chortled. "Would you like to look?"

On the damp wall to her left, the lean figure of a man—well, a man in the broadest sense—set himself on his feet and sauntered over to where her heavy body rested. His dark eyes eerily reflected the soft enchanted glow of the ball. Scaly lips turned up in a sneering smirk. "Which one's the lucky princess?"

"The redhead. She's turning sixteen today. The sharkbaits allow the royal princesses to visit the surface on their sixteenth birthday so they won't complain for the rest of their long lives."

"How considerate." The imp gave a closed-mouthed giggle. "Why her, though? Why not any of the others?"

The Sea Witch let the ball roll across puckering suction cups, dousing the ball in slimy kisses. Her pale, almost lavender-colored flesh twinkled in the ball's light while the slick black skin of her many legs glistened. "She and her friend are an eccentric pair. I've been watching them for some time. They're utterly infatuated with humans. The princess in particular will be an easy target."

The imp, often referred to as the Dark One, scoffed in mock surprise. "Eccentric mermaids? _Perish_ the thought."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find them quite amusing. I know I have!" The Sea Witch released a cackle that reverberated off the walls into a hollow echo no creature, on earth or in the deep, could've heard without shuddering.

The Dark One shrugged. "If you say so." Then he leaned in and wagged a sharp finger at her. "Just remember that I'm not here to entertain you. Once I fulfill my end, I'll return in a day's time to collect my reward."

"Of course, of course." The tentacles rolled the ball down into the apex of the Sea Witch's body until it was swallowed into the mysterious recesses of her boneless limbs. Darkness fully enveloped the pair of sorcerers now, but both could still see the other. "Have no fear, my friend. You provide the humans and the catastrophe, and I'll provide the squid ink."

The Dark One spread his hands. "Then we have a deal." He clapped his spindly hands together, and in a puff of smoke he was gone. A ghostly giggle lingered behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Woohoo! I updated all my OUAT fics (except AUD, but don't tell anyone). So proud of myself. I'm also excited by the fact that somebody mentioned this fic on Tumblr. And in a good way. I hope people are still interested.

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An escort wasn't the only compromise Ariel had to agree to. Triton also decided that she and Belle would ascend to the surface after sunset to avoid being spotted by sailors or, worse, fishermen. Ariel indulged in more eye-rolling at her father's paranoia, particularly regarding the second category of humans. "I wish he'd realize by now that fishermen don't actually _eat_ mermaids."

"I think it's the nets he's worried about." Belle affectionately rubbed Ariel's shoulder and smirked. "Or he's afraid you'll find their baited hooks too strong a temptation."

Ariel swatted away her friend's hand. "Very funny." Despondency, which belied her still simmering excitement over the upcoming adventure, tugged her eyes down to her untouched plate of pickled kelp, raw sea cucumber and a gelatinous glop of roe—all delicacies of the royal court's kitchens. All the other diners who'd been invited to the birthday banquet ate and lounged around the enormous stone table, which curled throughout the room like a sleeping python. Algae-coated hot rocks served at seats for them to recline on as they cleaned their plates. With nothing more to eat, the royal and noble folk dove into idle gossip and lazy flirtation. Their gossamer tails merrily swished and shimmered in the light of the bioluminescent coral that decorated the hall. One couple directly to Belle's right had a few morsels left that they put use as tools of seduction—or what she assumed was meant to be seduction. They slowly chewed the pale green flesh of the sea cucumbers with puckered lips that they then languidly wiped with their tongues. The merman, a thick-necked slab of meat with a shock of platinum blond hair, dipped his finger in the salty residue of the roe and smeared it on his pretty partner's nose before licking it up.

_For Poseidon's sake_, Belle silently snapped at them, _get a cave!_

A giggle behind her revealed that Ariel was watching the amorous pair, too. "Being in love sure does strange things to people."

Belle couldn't say if the couple was actually in love or not, but they suffered from something fierce that made them oblivious to their surroundings, including disturbed onlookers. "Indeed. It's probably just as well my father betrothed me to the likes of Gaston."

She turned around in time to catch Ariel's half-hearted shrug. "He's not so bad. Well, not so bad _looking_, at least. That must count for something."

Gaston was about as good looking at the youth next to them, but Belle was not inclined to start licking fish egg juice off _either _of their faces. She snorted a laugh at the notion. A few eyes flitted her way at the graceless sound. Her cheeks turned pink, but Belle smiled away her embarrassed and focused on Ariel. "I wish that were so, but he's so . . . _boring_."

"You think _everyone's_ boring." Ariel suddenly bowed her head and leaned in close. "Does this mean we need to find you someone more suitable _up above_?"

With a playful shove, Belle set Ariel aright. "Hardly. My engagement is all but written in stone. I don't expect I was meant for a whirlwind romance or a life of passion beyond what I can scrape out of books. You'll have to have enough romance for the both of us, love."

"Truth be told, I don't plan on going for the first handsome shark I see." For a moment Ariel's round, young features drew together into something more serious. The princess became pensive, and her companion couldn't say if this was a good or a bad thing. "Looks matter, you can't deny that, but what I _really_ want is—someone looking for an adventure. Someone with his eye on the horizon, always seeking the thing he can't see. That's the sort of guy I could fall for."

Belle absorbed her words with heartfelt empathy. They shared the frustration of living in a provincial society, lovely and regal as it was. Adventure sounded like just the remedy to interrupt the monotony. But yearning for the kind of man Ariel described came at a cost. Belle touched her friend's hand with a warmth uninhibited by the temperature of the deep waters. "It's an attractive idea, but if you ever meet someone like that, don't let his dreamy nature excuse him from not recognizing what he has in front of him. Let him seek adventure by all means, but it should never outweigh his concern for you. Not if he's the man you might _really_ fall for."

Sea-colored eyes smiled at her. Ariel squeezed Belle's fingers. "Don't worry about me. Let's worry about getting out of here and going up top a little early."

Belle's appendages stiffened at the suggestion. "But your father said—"

"I'll tell him I want to have a private chat with my sisters before going up."

"But the ball, and the presents—"

"They'll keep! Come on, we're wasting precious time! I want to see the sunset, that's all. Let that be your birthday present to me. One sunset in exchange for lying and possibly angering my father. I'm his daughter, and you're my closest friend—he won't lock us in a dungeon!"

If only they could be sure of that. More than one story had crossed Belle's ears of how severe King Triton could be not only on his people, but on his own children. Never cruelty, if she remembered correctly, but he did enough to compel his subjects to think twice about disobeying or enraging him. If there was one mermaid in all the ocean whom he couldn't intimidate, it was Ariel. She seemed to fear nothing. Her single-minded tenacity lent her a type of bravery Belle both admired and feared. Certain kinds of bravery came to a person even when terror wracked their bodies, and it sharpened that person's sensibilities. Other kinds, unfortunately, could make someone forget or ignore the consequences and charge ahead recklessly. Ariel's nervy enthusiasm tended to fit in the second category.

She envied it, though. Belle's capacity for bravery, as far as she knew, had never been put to the test. Sure, she'd lost her mother and had to endure it. She also lived in a more remote part of Triton's kingdom that bordered Open Waters – dark stretches of ocean no one ruled. Wandering pods of merfolk from other parts of the world would pass near her father's castle from time to time. At other times, packs of sharks would migrate through and make it imperative for Belle to remain inside the castle grounds for protection.

Then there were the sea-dragons; both the king's army and the militia of the border duchies had staved off the presence of the gargantuan brutes for centuries, and the government had negotiated treaty after treaty to maintain peace with them. As of now the sea-dragons had gone off to brood in some distant corner of the seas. Nevertheless, Belle could still remember the skirmishes and stand-offs her father had participated in when she was just a child. Her memories of those times—fortifying herself in the safe room with her governess and older sisters, worrying for her parents as they strategized against the enemy, hearing the very same enemy roaring just beyond the gates—had yet to fade. A good thing, in fact. They helped Belle remember that as pleasantly sheltered as their world seemed to be, the _real_ world was full of dangers. Those memories helped her understand the king's concern for Ariel's safety. Even if humans were nowhere near as terrifying or threatening as sea-dragons, they were a foreign element worthy of caution.

Understanding, for good or ill, still failed to inhibit curiosity or the thirst for excitement. Belle allowed Ariel to lead her away from their places. They swam several seats down to her father and a few of her sisters. Belle noted who was present and who was missing. Attina, the eldest, reclined at her father's side and talked to a friend on her other hand. Aquata and Allana were further away in opposite directions, also busy socializing. These appeared to be all the sisters remaining until Adella swept on by, sniggering hysterically and grazing Belle's tail and shoulder. Two mermen—mer_boys_—followed closely behind with taunts about her playing hard to get. That seemed hardly the case. Even Ariel sent an unimpressed glower after her sister for her antics. It earned a few chuckles from Belle.

As soon as the pair reached King Triton, Ariel cooed, "Hi, Daddy," in her more innocent tone. She kept to the opposite side of her father from Attina. Her greeting sounded too saccharine to Belle's experienced ears. But the king, whether from being drunk on the heady juices of his puffer fish or from a mood of fatherly indulgence, smiled brightly at his daughter.

"Ah, my little pearl! My birthday girl! How are you enjoying the festivities?"

"Very much, Daddy," said Ariel. She pecked her father on the cheek. "The concert was wonderful."

"I'd wanted you and your sisters to sing," Triton rebuked lightly with both disappointment and pride. "But I understand that today you ought to be entertained for once."

Ariel laughed, and her voice charmed all within range, although Attina eyed her little sister with characteristic suspicion. Belle knew Attina well enough to appreciate her shrewdness. She would see through her sister's charade very quickly if Ariel didn't put in her request soon. Belle, hoping to distract, offered an amiable but polite greeting to the older princess. Attina nodded her crowed head (a privilege reserved for the heir apparent) and returned the greeting with tepid feeling. She then resumed speaking to her friend.

Sir Maurice had been surprised to learn that Belle had befriended little mischievous (but still well-meaning) Princess Ariel. He'd expected her to form a friendship with Attina, who had studied the old tomes of the king's private library and had the history of Atlantica committed to memory. Belle had expected it, too, but Attina behaved as though her knowledge and ten-year age advantage placed her on a level unreachable to most, including Belle. Attina also had a strong sense of responsibility regarding her place as heir to Triton's throne. A commendable sensibility, and one that Belle would've shared were she in her place. But that might have been the problem: she and Attina were _too_ much alike in certain respects, and not enough in others. The elder princess ascribed to her father's belief that the world above had nothing to offer them, and the dangers far outweighed the potential benefits. And she was such a stickler for the rules.

It was hypocritical to think so negatively of Attina, Belle knew. Ariel really had spoiled her. The young mermaid's intrepid spirit proved addictive, and while she could be self-centered and short-sighted, Ariel had a sweet and open character that one could not help but love. She did not think herself above anyone simply because she was a princess. Had that been the case, she and Belle would probably never have become friends. And Belle had and always would be grateful for Ariel's friendship.

She waited a little ways off from the king and his daughters to escape Triton's scrutiny. At the same time she lingered within earshot to follow the conversation.

"Daddy, I want to go ask Arista and Andrina a few things about the surface before I go up. May I be excused?" Large eyes subtly fluttered at the king.

"Oh," Triton grunted. "Why can't you ask Attina here, or your other sisters? Arista said she wasn't feeling well. Andrina volunteered to take her back to her chamber."

At this Attina bent her head past her father to stare at Ariel again. Ariel, glimpsing at Attina for only a second, tangled her finger into her hair. "I thought it would be a good idea to ask someone who has been up there more recently. There might be things to see that weren't there before. Or things that Attina and the others saw that aren't there now. I won't stay long."

Triton stroked his beard once and sighed. "Very well. You'll come back to open your presents, right?"

"But, Daddy," Ariel whined, "it's nearly sunset. Can't Belle and I go up first, then come back for the gifts? I won't be up there all night."

"If you had your way, I wouldn't see you for three days," the king countered with a sharp look and a wry grin. He glimpsed around the room, including at his other daughters. He saw Attina's relentless glare. A crease formed between his eyebrows that made Belle's stomach clench. There was no telling what unspoken communication passed between them, but afterwards Triton turned back to Ariel and raised a finger at her. Belle wondered if things would've been different had the queen been alive. She imagined Ariel's mother would have been more understanding. From what little Ariel remembered of her from childhood, the late Queen Athena shared her youngest's character, though maybe not quite her degree of fascination with humans. Fortunately Attina did not wield the same position of influence as her deceased mother, so at least her sterner input had only a partial impact on King Triton's decisions. Without a dissenting voice to support Ariel, however, escaping the banquet was going to be a struggle.

His finger still pointing at Ariel, the king said, "You have two hours, my dear."

"But it takes half an hour to reach the surface!" Ariel was still whining, which pierced Belle's ears and was likely hurting her case. She took notice, thankfully, cleared her throat and amended, "That means an entire hour of going and coming without actually being above water. Four hours, Daddy, please."

"Oh, no. Three is my limit." Triton raised his voice at this. Despite that, both Ariel and Belle could tell he was nowhere near his breaking point. He often used this tactic to school children and subjects to his will and shorten conversations.

"_Fine_," huffed Ariel. "Starting _after_ I visit Arista and Andrina. Give me a twenty-minute head-start."

"Very well." Triton patted his daughter on the cheek. Attina shook her head. Belle held in a smile to play it safe. That smile, as well as Ariel's as she started to glow with triumph, disappeared when the king bellowed, "Lieutenant Sebastian!"

A tall, prickly figure came up behind Belle, marched past her on six skinny legs, and stood beside the king and Ariel to bow. "Yes, your majesty?" Lieutenant Sebastian of the Crustacean Guard spoke in his peculiar south-seas accent. Like all cancereans, Sebastian loomed at an imposing seven feet from the tips of his legs to the top of his shell-domed skull. Every part of him was covered in the armor of his spiky, rust-colored exoskeleton except for the pink flesh around his jaw, which allowed him to eat and speak. Even his black eyes were encased in hard clear lenses—the only way to protect them since cancereans had no lids to blink with. As with other members of King Triton's Crustacean Guard, he wielded a spear with a curved quartz blade in his right claw.

The king pounded his blue tail against the ground while turning over on his rock to see the guard better. "Escort Ariel and Belle to the princesses' quarter. Make sure they remain within their twenty-minute time limit."

"As ya wish, your majesty," answered Lt. Sebastian with another bow.

Of course the attempt would end in failure. They should never have underestimated the king even in his better moods. Ariel turned to Belle looking cross and crestfallen. No words could be exchanged without their crabby guard overhearing them. They swam in silence, side by side, peeking around only a few times for a diversion.

"Allow me ta wish you a happeh birttay, your highness," said Sebastian when they could no longer hear the chorus of voices in the banquet hall.

"Thank you," Ariel muttered.

"You'll be goin' up to da surface tonight. Be careful up there, your highness. The above world be a dangerous place."

"Yes, so my father tells me." The princess' voice tightened like a string.

Hoping some talk would give her ideas, or work up into a distraction, Belle asked, "Have you been up there, sir?"

"Only once, a varry long time ago." The lieutenant's spear pounded against the floor, setting the tempo of his crawl. It occurred to Belle that cancereans, while capable of swimming, were designed more for walking. It took more effort to move off the ground than for merfolk. "Back in da day when my people came to dees waters. We came on land to lay our eggs, but we met a human settlement t'ere. Tey attacked us wit'out a tought, and we have never gone to da surface since."

"Maybe they were just afraid," Ariel suggested.

"Varry likely, your highness—things are most dangerous when t'ey're afraid. Tat is why we avoid da surface at all costs. Better to leave tings be and not invite conflict."

Though she understood Sebastian's sentiments, Belle kept busy thinking of an escape. As she thought, her hand idly drifted down to her necklace, a chain of white and blue shells inlaid with sapphires. A meager little plot formed in her mind. She glanced to see that Sebastian's eyes were turned on Ariel. She hoped very hard they were. Not easy to tell with cancereans. When she felt mostly sure he wasn't looking her way, Belle snapped the necklace off and dropped it behind her. Thanks to the water's density, it floated away a few feet and landed soundlessly on the ground.

She waited until they were outside the door of the princesses' royal chambers to casually touch her chest and release a horrified gasp. "Oh, no! My necklace!"

Her companions turned to her. "What is wrong?" asked Sebastian.

Ariel stared at her friend in confusion for a few seconds. When she at last understood, she hid a smile behind her mouth and did her best to look upset when Sebastian checked her reaction.

"I've lost it!" Belle struggled to convince without overreaching. Her lip suffered the anxious attentions of her teeth, but only when she wasn't gasping like a landed fish. "Oh, no! That was my mother's! It was her favorite necklace and I've lost it!"

"Could it still be at the banquet hall?" asked Ariel, fighting for a straight face.

"I have no idea." Belle altered her gasps to false sobs, and she scrunched up her eyes until she felt she might be able to produce a few tears. "Oh, Poisedon, I can't believe it. So typical! I'm such a careless idiot!"

"Calm yourself, milady." Lt. Sebastian's unruffled civility made Belle question whether or not he was falling for the act. "You and the princess shall go into the chambers. I will go in search of the necklace."

Belle rubbed her dry eyes. "Thank you, Sebastian. I'm sorry to put you through this."

She and Ariel obediently entered the door, held open by one of the cancerean's massive claws. As soon as the door closed behind them, Ariel snatched Belle's wrist and pulled her across the foyer, through the hall joining the seven bedrooms of the seven princesses, and into the shared living space where the mermaids talked and relaxed and played board games. Heated rocks circled the room, a sign of royal luxury. The walls were draped in velvet-soft purple curtains, one of which Ariel drew back to expose the bare rock wall. Belle thought something looked amiss about this particular portion of the wall, a strange unevenness that could have been a trick of her imagination. Her hunch proved right; Ariel brushed her hand across the surface until she issued a quiet "Aha!" and pressed down. Part of the wall came toward them, then slid to the side. A low-lit corridor greeted them.

"I've always wanted to use this!" Ariel grabbed Belle again, and together they slipped out, pausing for only to make sure Attina and Andrina hadn't heard them come in or seen Ariel's handiwork. The princess found the place that matched the magic spot on the other side of the wall. The secret door closed the same way it opened, now with them cut off from the rest of the palace.

* * *

"Isn't this so much better than coming up when it's dark?" said Ariel. Filtered beams of fire-red sunlight danced across her hair.

Belle shook her head. They hadn't even reached the surface yet for the grand view, although they were close, and Ariel was already bragging. "We're still going to be in huge trouble when we get back."

"Thanks to you!" Ariel cried, laughing.

"I had to do something! You would never have forgiven me."

"Exactly. You knew we'd get in trouble, but you did that, anyway." The young princess regarded her friend with less teasing and more affection. "Thank you. Really. No one else would have done that for me."

"Are you sure that's a good thing?" Belle certainly didn't.

"I'll make it worth your while." With a flap of her tail, Ariel shot up ahead of Belle. "Now hurry up! The sun will be gone soon!"

As foolish as she felt, Belle chose to let her excitement overtake her. She raced after Ariel and, try as she might, couldn't out-stroke her. To her credit, she breached the surface only a couple of seconds later. Close enough to still feel the drops from Ariel's head when she tossed it back. Both mermaids laughed and savored the childish joy of the moment. Then they saw their surroundings, and went silent.

It truly was something Belle never expected to see. The sky was a firework display of lights and colors. The rippling clouds captured the sunrays and bent the hues to dazzling effect. The western horizon was so bright their eyes hurt, yet they didn't want to look away. Such deep, passionate colors like none either of them had seen in their watery kingdom. The ocean looked blacker in comparison to the sunset. Belle fell in love with the softer tones in the east as they gave way to night. No stars shone yet, but a gibbous moon hovered like a slanted eye over them.

She turned round to see Ariel still watching what was left of the fiery ball, and its reflection on the lapping sea. The sunlight suited her face well; it accentuated the natural redness in her cheeks, lips and hair. The blue of her eyes deepened, and her skin looked rich and lovely. Belle peered down at her arms and found that while the sun did add some gold to her skin, her complexion remained pale. Pale like the moon. Well, moonlight was beautiful, too.

The view so enchanted them that words would have disrupted its beauty, so they held their peace. Belle did notice and point out to Ariel a strip of land to the north, the sight of which tugged Ariel toward it as if a cord linked her sternum to the shore. Belle would've been tempted herself had they emerged near the cave of her secret cubby hole, and if she hadn't recalled King Triton's stern words. But as long as Ariel stayed in sight and stayed safe, Belle wanted her friend to have as much freedom as possible.

The silence gently shattered with Ariel's giggle. She looked back at Belle and nodded toward land. Though she replied with a discouraging glare, Belle made no move to stop her. Ariel darted off, and Belle followed right after. Diving back into the waves and then resurfacing to meet the light dazzled Belle's eyes. It almost disoriented her. Ariel's speed caused the gills on Belle's neck to convulse rapidly for oxygen. "Hold on, Ariel!" she called, slowing down to catch her breath. "We still have plenty of time."

Ariel groaned and looped around. "Come on! I know you're stalling. Stop being a spoil-sport!"

"I am not!" Surprised and offended, Belle wielded her most withering look. After all she'd gone through to get Ariel here, could she not cut her a little slack? "You're the one who's bolting like your life depends on it!"

"Because it does!" Ariel wailed with desperation.

"It does not!"

"How can I hope to see any humans if we don't reach the shore before dark?"

Belle sighed and kneaded her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. "Ariel, we're not here to see humans. You know that."

Ariel pouted and grumbled, "You're starting to sound like my dad."

"Give him a little credit now and then," Belle pleaded. "He just wants you to be safe."

Snorting, Ariel shot back up to the surface. "Ugh, _wait_!" This was getting out of hand. Belle steadied her temper with a deep breath, then chased after her friend yet again. She was several seconds behind Ariel this time, which meant there were several seconds of shaking the water out of her eyes and pushing her hair out of the way before Belle actually looked at Ariel. The stark silence did register as unexpected, but Belle thought nothing of it until she saw Ariel, who appeared to have been stunned by a jellyfish sting. Her eyes gaped like dying oysters, and her jaw hung loose. She didn't seem to be _breathing_."

"Ariel?" Belle grabbed her companion's arm, her blood racing from fear. "What is it? Are you all right?"

Despite her flabbergasted state, Ariel returned Belle's touch, gripping her arm in the same place as Belle held hers. "_Look_," she breathed.

Belle's heart seized. She imagined many terrible things that Ariel saw behind her: an armada of sharks, a gargantuan storm cloud, maybe even a sea-monster. She wanted to ask without needing to look. Her muscles, however, were rendered just as stiff and unresponsive. She clenched her fists, kept all three imagined terrors in her mind, and twisted around.

Belle gasped and trembled with more than shock, and squealed in equal parts fright and excitement, and mostly disbelief. Was she really seeing this? Of course she was. No doubt Ariel's paralysis resulted from being caught in the throes of lethal ecstasy. The object they beheld, glowing in the sun like the fantastic artifact of legend they'd always dreamed the real thing would be, rested atop the waves. Its rounded body rode them with majestic grace and surety. It loomed no bigger than a thumbnail in the distance, had either mermaid held up her finger, but the world narrowed around it, and they imagined it a gigantic beast up close. And how did it float on the water? Lightly like foam, almost a part of the ocean's skin, or did it slice through with a blade's force and precision? How did the wind sound wapping against the white sheets that crowned it? The thing, to their eyes and imaginations, didn't seem a specimen of the real world, yet Belle knew that it ran on mechanisms crafted by mortal hands, and therefore was endowed with as much tangibility as anything else.

Suddenly she felt starved. She hungered to know. Salivated to explore every curve, every protrusion, every angle and crevice. To learn its body inside and out, comprehend its parts and how they worked together. And, of course, to glimpse at the creatures onboard who operated it.

Ariel squeezed her arm enough that the skin started to redden. Pain weakened the spell on Belle enough so she could turn and wrangle her throbbing arm out of Ariel's grasp. The younger mermaid, her capacity for speech returning, clenched her friend more tightly in response.

"Belle! That . . . that's a . . ."

"Yeah," Belle squeaked. It was the only word her tongue would move for. Any other sounds she attempted came out a tangle of incomprehensible noises.

"Let's check it out!" Ariel released Belle to dodge past her and hurtle herself toward the ship like a marlin fleeing for its life.

Words still teased and eluded Belle, so with little choice she swam in Ariel's wake. No matter how much she pushed her speed, Ariel remained a shrinking, wriggling tail. Although Ariel poked her head above the water now and then to check the ship's position, Belle did not have the velocity to overtake her lead. She did not bother looking up above herself: Ariel would bring her right to the desired target, no question.

Only when the mud-brown underbelly of the vessel came within a few yards did both mermaids surface and remain topside. Belle hesitated from following Ariel's example of latching onto one of the ship's ropes, dangling down and hugging the bow. She bent her head back to run her eyes up, up, up the wooden beast before her. Its front extended into a nose-like extremity on which was fixed a statue that, Belle soon realized, was meant to resemble a mermaid. She didn't know whether to be flattered or miffed. The statue's hair, though flowing, had a stiff shape, and its eyes held no life. But, to be fair, it _was_ a statue, and one probably carved without the subject present.

Given the ship's height, Belle started to doubt that they would be able see anything inside. That is, until Ariel called down to her, and Belle gazed up to see her friend snuggled between two nearby ropes and shimmying herself along the boat's body toward a square opening in the hull covered by a planked flap, just below the railing. Belle tried to recall what purpose that kind of hole served on ships. Ariel would not let her before she had Belle join her. She reclined onto her side and stretched her arm down. Taking the hint and ordering her stomach to control itself, Belle swam underneath her and reached up with one hand. She let Ariel hoist her up while digging the fingers of her free hand into the wood and gaps in the planks. The task blistered her and embedded a couple of splinters between the tiny, flesh-colored scales. Once Belle entered the somewhat safe cradle of the ropes beside Ariel, she worked on liberating the woody needles. She winced but withheld her complaints. What were a few splinters? Thanks to Ariel, they were about to see their first humans.

The night rolled in and stripped away any natural illumination, but the mermaids had eyes suited for the dark ocean depths. They also discovered when Ariel raised the flap that there was yellow light on the ship. Ariel scooted over as far as she could without falling off the ropes so they could both look. They pressed their shell-cupped breasts against the wood and let only the tops of their heads and their eyes show through the opening, as well as their fingers to keep them upright and attached to the boat.

Their position lent them a view of the upper deck, open to the sea air and swarming with human life. Laughter and a cacophony of conversations washed over them. The humans present, Belle noticed with interest, were all male. Thin shirts, most hanging open, clung to their chests. Snug trousers covered the mysterious appendages called legs, as did a pair of leather boots per man. Belle recited these terms with strained memory from the snippets of information the unruined books she'd found had contained. Whether Ariel knew or remembered she couldn't say, but the delight written on her parted, smiling mouth and ravenous eyes assured Belle that, either way, she was having the birthday of a lifetime.

The first surprising thing Belle learned while observing the men was that they spoke the same language as they. This meant that, after adjusting to their accents and how differently sounds resonated in the air from the water, she started to understand the bits of talk exchanged. She couldn't make sense of much until a man in a long black coat, his wrinkly head topped with a scant curtain of grey hair, marched across the deck and ordered the men to prepare themselves for 'his highness'.

"I will not tolerate any barbarism or insubordination," proclaimed the finely-dressed fellow, his tone floaty. "Has the gift been prepared?"

"All right an' ready, milord," said one of the men Belle realized were sailors. He saluted the grey-haired gentleman with a smile, and his comrades shared furtive chuckles that the 'lord' still noticed. He simply sniffed at them and walked on. Though the sailors let their humor come out, they relinquished their seats on barrels and boxes to attend to their duties. Once she believed the men were safely out of earshot, Belle looked at Ariel. Ariel had the same idea.

"A gift?" asked Ariel. "For a birthday?"

Belle shrugged. "So it seems. For whom, I wonder."

"Why, for Prince Eric, of course!"

Both Belle and Ariel tried to mute their startled cries. The new voice seemed to come from all around them, so they whipped their heads in many directions until they discovered someone sitting on another length of rope off to Ariel's right. Whereas they sat facing the ship, a strange little man perched in the center of the rope and faced the ocean. He swung his legs idly. Like the sailors, boots covered his feet and reached his knees, but his trousers were made from the same material. His coat, which hung free behind him, had been tailored from something entirely different. Something with scales, but from no fish Belle had ever seen. His golden-grey skin twinkled in the fading light the same way their scales did.

Belle took a chance and leaned back so she could look past Ariel for a better view of their new companion. "Uh, hello. Who are you?"

"Just another interested observer," he remarked. She could hear the toying grin in his voice. "The more pressing question is: what are two lovely fishies like yourselves doing above the surface, on a human ship no less, gawking at sailors and their princely captain?"


	3. Chapter 3

About time I updated this. This needs more editing, I'm sure, so please accept my apologies that it isn't more stellar. And enjoy!

* * *

Things had worked out almost a little too well. Which, in the business of magic and desperate dealings, should be taken as a warning. From what he'd been told and what he'd observed, however, Rumplestiltskin took the timely appearance of the mermaids as good fortune. He released the required potion into the air and concealed himself just as he picked up the presence of the ocean maidens. His work was all but done. He just wanted to ensure that events would unfold as his client desired. The mermaids themselves held little interest for him. Oh, yes, Ursula had chortled over their antics and obsession with humans. It didn't much surprise Rumplestiltskin that there were merfolk bored with the restrained society of Triton's court. The Dark One had suffered many encounters with such creatures from other places where their mischievous natures flourished, unbound. They enjoyed luring many different species with their mesmerizing voices, and then forcing them into a pact or subjecting them to uncouth pranks. Or just drowning them. The merpeople of Triton's kingdom were, at heart, no different, and he had no reason to afford them any more respect.

There must have been another reason, then. When the pair climbed the side of the ship with unforeseen dexterity, like legless monkeys, and watched the sailors on board with children's delight, Rumplestiltskin caught himself grinning. It _was_ a little amusing to see them so captivated by the mundane, even repulsive sailors. But his recollection of the Sea Witch's words, and his own regarding the "entertainment" value of this endeavor, stirred him from his silent observations.

He removed the veil of invisibility and spoke up amidst their hushed conversation.

The mermaid closest to him, the only one he could see from head to tail, was Princess Ariel. Round-eyed, large-mouthed, and with flame-red hair still wet and matted against her skin. A pretty little catch, he conceded. Her companion he could observe only from the shoulder up when she leaned back at the risk of losing her grip. Her head was crowned with much darker hair that offset her lighter complexion. Her features were at once softer and more mature than Ariel's, stumping his guess of her age. Ariel's voice rang bright and clear like a delicate bell. Her friend's rested in the lower register, dark and sharp like wine. She spoke with gentility without sounding snobbish. "Um, hello. Who are you?"

Indulging in another grin, Rumplestiltskin half-answered with a quip and a question of his own about their intentions. Of course he knew why they were here, but he needed to remove any notion from their minds that he knew. It would have spoiled the game.

"It's my birthday today," Ariel declared a millisecond before the other mermaid could offer a more impersonal response.

"Congratulations!" Rumplestiltskin flourished a hand. "Then by all means, let not my presence disturb you. I shall be on my way."

Ariel came close to launching herself at him, though doing so would have landed her in the water. Waving frantically she cried, "Wait! You said the captain is a prince. Do you know him?"

"Not personally. More by reputation." Satisfied to have their rapt attention, Rumplestiltskin rested against the ship and upped his florid gesturing. "Prince Eric, intrepid explorer and master seaman! 'Tis no braver man on all the seas, nor any who can match his skill at the mast and wheel."

The princess smiled, out of her mind with delight and intrigue. Her friend, though interested, seemed not as taken in. She peered at him with lucid blue eyes, closer to the color of the sky than the sea. Intrigued by her shrewd skepticism, Rumplestiltskin cocked his head to meet her gaze. "Not convinced yet, dearie?"

"He sounds too good to be true." Though she spoke seriously, he detected a hidden playful note in her timbre. Was she _teasing_ him?

"Believe it, my dear. Many a maiden has striven to win his heart. All have failed. He loves nothing but the ocean."

"A lucky thing we're part of the ocean, then," said Ariel, giggling.

The other mermaid rolled her eyes, then smiled. The princess turned in time to see the first gesture and, annoyed, poked her in the ribs. Her friend squealed by accident and slapped her hand over her mouth. A sudden rise in the voices on the ship warned the mermaids to duck out of sight. Rumplestiltskin was secure in his position and too interested in this ridiculous couple to abandon his perch just yet. They all held their peace until the bustling bodies that thumped their boots and scraped barrels, chairs, boxed and tables across the deck to different places calmed and gave way to a rousing cheer. Rumplestiltskin couldn't see what was happening, but he guessed that the sailors were greeting their captain, for the mermaids angled their heads and contorted their torsos to follow everyone's line of sight. More curious than he anticipated, the wizard pushed against the hull and swung the rope he sat on far enough to grab the line holding up the mermaids. Both girls turned and gasped at him, then just as quickly lost interest and watched the humans with clenched hands and baited breaths.

The cheers intensified. They grew louder as more voices joined in to greet a man ascending from the captain's cabin, escorted by an octogenarian with a horsey face. The young man stood out from the rabble, making clear his role in the proceedings. The youth towered over most of the crew, and would have even without the thick-soled boots. Contrary to what the mermaids might have been expecting, he garbed himself in a simple tunic and vest rather than a dark blue, finely tailored coat trimmed with gold and silver and sporting three intimidating rows of metals across its left breast. Even the sword sheathed and dangling from his side had a dull steel handle instead of a gold one studded with gems. Without these ornaments, his handsome features actually shined through more brilliantly. His square jaw ended in gentle curves, and his mouth and nose, though prominent, lacked haughtiness. When he stepped onto the deck to meet the welcoming cries of the men at his command, he answered with a frank smile tinged with embarrassment. His light eyes squinted from the smile - a sign of genuine gladness. Yes, a dashing yet approachable specimen. No wonder the lad had left so many girls broken-hearted after failing to win his love. Rumplestiltskin, brimming with satisfaction, glanced down at the mermaids. He could not see their faces, but he noticed Ariel grip her friend's wrist in swift, ecstatic fervor. Her head moved with the prince as he crossed the deck to shake hands and exchange backslaps with the other men. No doubt about it: she was transfixed.

So pleased and distracted by his success was he that some time passed before, in the corner of his eye, he realized a pair of eyes had locked on him. His breath snagged in his throat. He turned just enough to look back at the girl - honestly, what was her name? But he was more worried over the little puzzled scowl tainting her features. There was that discerning stare again, only without the touch of good humor. She must have seen him looking at Ariel.

No, mermaids weren't that perceptive. Maybe this one ranked a little higher on the intelligence scale than most, but really, what had he to fear? They were tricky creatures, yes, but not particularly bright. And even if she did wonder at his interest, he could handle her. Rumplestiltskin deflected her inquiring look with a conspiring glance at the humans and a widened grin. He even managed to sneak in a quiet giggle. The mermaid continued to stare; however, her scowl retreated, and the suspicious squint that came in its place brought back a less serious air. It tempted Rumplestiltskin to smile even more widely.

As there was no important conversation going on among the humans - just general words of goodwill and gratitude for remembering the prince's birthday - the wizard seized the opportunity to speak again.

"So, tell me, who might you little fishies be?"

Again, the princess beat her friend to the word. "I'm Ariel. This is Belle."

"Ah!" Rumplestiltskin took turns looking at each mermaid. "Do I dare ask if you are the same Princess Ariel and Lady Belle of King Triton's court?"

Belle cleared her throat, silencing Ariel for once. "Yes, and the king knows we're here. Anything else you'd like to know?"

Tilting his head again, Rumplestiltskin leaned in and put on a tight, toothy smile for Belle's discomfort. She backed away an inch but kept her gaze forward, never leaving his. "That's all for now. Anything else _you_'d like to know?"

The mermaid, unblinking, swallowed. "Your name would be nice."

His issued an explosive giggle that made her start. "Nothing gets past you, does it? Fair enough. I'm-"

"Will you two stop _talking_?" Ariel growled at them. Rumplestiltskin drew back without thinking. "I can barely hear anything they're saying! Be quiet or go somewhere else!"

_Such a rude royal. _Rumplestiltskin chuckled at the redundancy. He'd been waiting for this, anyway. Holding on to the ledge of the window through which Ariel peered with greedy interest, he leaned forward, past the princess, and wrapped his arm around Belle's shoulders and pressed his mouth to her ear. The tips of his fingers grazed her collarbone.

"I'm Rumplestiltskin."

With that, he magicked himself away. The swirling purple cloud filled his vision and freed the mermaid of his grip without him moving his arm. Faster than a heartbeat, he stood in the comfort of his laboratory. He dropped his arms to his sides and sighed. It would have been nice to observe the terror he'd unleashed, but there was other work to be done. Other deals and potions to be made. He'd left the mermaids with everything they would need should circumstances press them to ask for future help.

Then again, maybe he was better off not entangling himself with any more mermaids. They were Ursula's prey, and troublesome to boot. But if things were about to happen the way he suspected, Belle would not go to the Sea Witch for aid.

* * *

Belle didn't know what to be more astonished by: the strange man's sudden, impossible departure, or that the smoke left behind didn't make her cough or sneeze. She didn't even spend much time swatting it away - it dissolved so quickly.

_Magic._

The sensible and excitable sides of her personality butted heads. They'd just been accosted by a sorcerer. An unsettling, intriguing sorcerer. Who'd been sticking his nose in their business. _And no doubt had his own interesting story behind those reptilian scales and flounder eyes._ He'd give his name; did that mean he expected to see them again? He probably meant to make trouble, if he was anything like the Sea Witch. _But trouble was interesting. _

Her mind screamed hopes and scoldings so loudly that Belle missed Ariel's question the first time.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"What?" Belle silenced the internal skirmish. "No, sorry."

"I asked, what did he say to you? Before he went _poof_."

Her entire body twitched at the fresh memory of crusted lips and hot breath against her ear, and needly fingers and a cool palm in the dip bewteen her shoulder and chest. She hadn't been as frightened as she ought. Knowing that made her shudder again. "He told me his name. Rumplestiltskin."

"Rum-pa-what?" Ariel snickered. "Are you sure you heard him right?"

"How_ couldn't_ I?"

Ariel laughed more kindly. She was interrupted by another tidal wave of happy hollers. Both mermaids abandoned conversation and squeezed together, fighting for a view of the prince amid the throng of jubilant sailors. They sure were a noisy lot. Their ruckus vexed Belle, but it also masked the mermaids' voices and protected them from discovery, so she shouldn't complain. Ariel had lost interest in talking, though. Her eyes found the prince and traced the curves and motions of his body. Belle watched as well and struggled to gauge his appeal. He was handsome, all right. But there were other fine-looking sailors. Was the prince that much more attractive? While his broad shoulders and sunshine smile evoked instinctive interest, Belle's mind and heart couldn't comply. He reminded her of Gaston in physique. To be fair, the prince treated the men under his command like comrades, not pawns or puppets for his use. Gaston probably would have been baffled. The prince's attitude alone compelled Belle to approve of him.

"Oh, _Belle._" Oh, dear. Belle peeled her attention away from the prince to look at Ariel with dread. Her young friend wore an expression very new to her lovely face. Her jaw hung loose. Her eyes twinkled like far-off stars. She resembled a stunned fish, unable to care that it was about to be swallowed by the electric eel that zapped it.

"_Ariel_," warned Belle. She had to break this enchantment on the poor princess before it was too late.

"Belle, he's everything I've ever dreamed of a man being. He's . . . _ugh._" Not once did Ariel look at her companion while speaking. At the unladylike exclamation she plopped her head down on her folded arms on the ledge of the window.

"Oh, come on," Belle hissed. "He's not _that_ dreamy. He seems nice enough, but maybe it's just a front. Maybe deep down he's-"

"Shh!' Ariel cut in as the object of their conversation stepped onto a crate and raised a hand for silence among the crew. The sailors promptly obeyed.

The prince's voice carried over the crowd before him to the two uninvited spectators. "I want to thank you, my friends and crew, for your overwhelming thoughtfulness." The warmth in his tone rang pure, unsullied by condescension. _Oh, dear heaven, please let the man have a flaw_, Belle begged. He needed a flaw, or Ariel was doomed to moon and pine for him for the rest of her life.

"As some of you may already know, this particular birthday marks a special occasion for the men in my family. I mean that as of now, today, with no other heirs to the throne of my father's kingdom, I am obligated to return home to assume more intimate responsibility over the land and seek a wife."

Whistles pierced the evening air at the last word. A few bodies swayed as men shook their fists in well-meaning catcalls and teasing. Though the movements obscured Ariel and Belle's view, they snatched a few peeks of the prince's appeasing waves. Even if they hadn't seen him, his laughter would've reached their ears. "Yes, yes, I know. A wonderful prospect to be sure. But I go home with a heavy heart. It's true. This means my activities must be restricted at this time to more_ princely_ pursuits."

A few boos - not quite as enthusiastic as the cheers. Not surprising to Belle, since there was a good chance Prince Eric was returning home to become a ruling royal over _their_ lands and property.

"A shameful thing, indeed," answered the prince, chuckling some more. "If I were free to choose, I would wish to be nowhere else but on this ship, with this fine crew, and the sea salt filling my lungs." He paused for the barks of laughter from other salt-lined lungs. "With that in mind, gentleman, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for indulging what I know to be boyish dream that must now come to an end - though, indeed, I wish it had become my life's dream and achievement. It's the greatest gift I will ever receive. Thank you."

Toward the end his words halted now and then. Emotions leaked into his countenance, and they earned a brief swell of tears to Belle's eyes, which she easily squelched. Mermaids felt as much as any human, but they did not cry over most things. Ariel might've, though, so Belle tapped her on the shoulder to distract the princess and her smarting orbs, already turning pink.

"We should go."

"Oh, please, not yet! Don't you understand? It means we're never going to see him again!"

"The chances of seeing him again weren't good to begin with."

"Please, Belle! Just a little longer!"

A sharp wind brushed against them. Belle shivered. "It's getting late. Your father must know by now that we've slipped away. There's probably a search party looking for us. It's time to go."

A small but strong hand clenched Belle's wrist. Ariel's eyes flashed with frightening tenacity. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until . . ."

Belle swallowed. "Until what?"

"I . . . I just have to . . ."

Wresting her wrist from Ariel's grasp, Belle took her friend's sweet face in both hands. "You can't, Ariel. There's nothing either of us can do. He has his world, we have ours. As much as I . . . as much as we want things to be different, now is not the time to do something reckless. Maybe in a few years-"

A sob stuttered out of Ariel before she said, "I want him."

Such a simple, impossible wish. A thing a child would ask for: I want that. I want it now. It was cruel to laugh, Belle knew, but she could hardly help it. She kept her laughter low and quiet to spare Ariel's feelings. "He's not a shell you can snatch up and take home. And the only way you could take him home is if you drowned him first."

The air buffeted around them again. Both mermaids braced themselves against the ship. This time the wind didn't let up, and even among the rushing gust they heard a crack of thunder uncomfortably close by. Belle looked up and groaned. Ariel turned as far as she could to see what Belle saw: huge black clouds swallowing the sky like hungry orcas, coming toward them fast. Lightning flashed out of their thick bodies. Soon a sheet of cold rain dropped down. The wind blew harder and screamed louder. Belle could barely discern the shouts on the ship. Were the men frightened, or were they trying to pass on orders? She watched long enough to observe some sailors tugging at ropes at the main mast, and others moved the crates and threw open doors in the floor to take them below. When the ship started to rock wildly, and growing waves rolled over the deck and soaked everyone, the mermaids included, Belle grabbed her friend's arm and squeezed it with stubborn authority. "Come on!"

Red tresses flailed as Ariel shook her head, even as Belle leapt from the ship and pulled her down with her. A swell gobbled them up. Even beneath the surface, the ocean was so rough that the current pushed them around and made swimming unusually difficult. Their bodies rose and fell with the waves. They still could see the ship's hull except when the boat rode high enough on the water that it all but disappeared, shortly followed by it crashing down and rolling dangerously.

"It's going to get torn apart!" cried Ariel.

Belle was ready to contradict her before a blinding glare lit up overhead and sounded a thunderclap that penetrated even the roar of the ocean. Panic-stricken, Ariel darted up to the surface. Belle followed, powerless to stop her yet again. The sight that met them when they surfaced all but drove away Belle's fear of King Triton.

A bolt of lightning must have struck the main mast. The ship was rapidly becoming engulfed in flames. Belle hoped the torrent of rain would quench the fire, but it didn't. The vessel's sleek frame lit up with flickering orange tongues interrupted by the black silhouettes of the men onboard.

Ariel took her arm. "We have to save them, Belle. They'll die if we don't!"

They probably would, and for the life of her Belle couldn't let herself leave anyone, human or merman, to such a grim end. The friends swam forward, united in purpose. As they closed the distance they saw the men start to lower rowboats over the side of the burning ship. With the ship keeling as violently as it did, their task was made all the more treacherous.

"We'll get under the small boats and keep them steady as they climb on," said Belle. "Then we'll rescue the ones who go overboard. And for Poseidon's sake, don't let them see you!"

Easier said than done, but Ariel's safety was still Belle's main priority. They stayed together and each took an end of a boat when it touched down on the water. They flapped their tails with unprecedented effort to hold it in place. The mermaids started at seeing men already in the water swimming to the boat they were under and climbing on. One fellow's arms were so tired that he continued to dangle in the water for a full minute. No one on the boat seemed to notice him in the chaos. Ariel took a chance and, grabbing his legs, pushed him up. Belle bit back a nervous cry even while she swam back under the boat, out of sight. Raised voices babbled above them, but that was it. No one had a mind to jump back in the water and discover what creature had touched the sailor and helped him. As soon as the oars dipped down, the mermaids swam off to the next closest boat.

Their task continued for what felt like hours. There seemed to be only four boats, thankfully, and when the last one cast off and the mermaids surfaced again to check around, they could see only the ship, the fire that had half-eaten it, and pieces of debris that had splinter off in the conflagration.

"All right, we're done," Belle announced, hasty to leave. She dove down and swam hard, even as her body throbbed from exertion. "We can never do anything like that again, Ariel. It was definitely an adventure - one worthy of a whole book - but . . ."

The curious silence begged Belle to turn around. She was alone. Her heart slammed inside her chest as she retraced her path and rose up to look for Ariel. A glimmer of tail in the distance caught her eye. She breached the surface.

For some reason Ariel was going off in the opposite direction. Belle couldn't guess why until she saw her arrive at a large plank of wood and a man draped over it, unmoving. A long stare confirmed what Belle instantly feared. The body was Prince Eric.

She tried to yell to Ariel, nevermind whether there were still other humans in earshot. A towering wave cut her off. It swooped down like a giant's hand and crushed her with its power and weight. Belle went tumbling down, down, down in a sickening spiral. All orientation was lost.

By the time she regained her bearings, she had no idea where she or anyone else was. She'd been thrown into some unknown pocket of the sea that was all sand on the ocean floor, with no distinctive landmarks for miles. Even if there had been, the water had turned murky in the churning storm and reduced visibility to a league. As much as her sense of self-preservation objected to it, Belle had no choice but to go up to the surface. Waves still tugged and dragged her in directions she did not want to go. But then a heartening idea came to her. Wherever she was, it could not have been all that far from the ship and the strip of land she and Ariel had seen. If she was still within sight of land, the waves would take her there. To head to land was to head to Ariel, who was certainly going there with her half-drowned prince. Belle managed to poke her head above water just long enough to spot a green stripe. The waves pushed her that way, so she listened to them this time. Riding the tide gave her body time to rest and recover from her adventure.

Belle avoided guessing how long it took to reach land. She and Ariel must have been in trouble now for staying out so late. Be that as it may, she permitted a moment to stare at the shore. The green she'd seen from afar was the treeline of a forest crowning a hilly ridge. The shore itself was pebbled and dotted with boulders lashed by the surf. The faint scent of earth floating on the air enchanted Belle, but she kept her distance in expectation of the lifeboats from the unlucky ship. She pushed on, followed the sloping beach, and at long last she spied a pair of figures coming in on the land-bound waves, one two-legged and one fish-tailed. She followed them.

The arduous swim brought Belle to the point of dead exhaustion. So much so that she could not swim all the way in to shore and instead chose to take her rest on a cropping rock embedded in the middling depths. She could conceal herself from view and still watch Ariel climb onto the rough sand with her prince's arm around her shoulders. At last she collapsed and gasped for air, letting the prince roll off her onto his back. Belle couldn't imagine carrying such a weight all the way to land. A surge of envy for Ariel's strength came and went. She felt more sorry for the princess than anything, who looked as though she was tired beyond caring whether a bevy of humans found her and strung her up as their prize.

They remained where they were for some time - Belle lounging against the rock, Ariel lying flat on the ground, and Prince Eric matching her pose, only while facing the sky. Ariel returned to life first. With her new bout of energy she crawled closer to the prince and pushed his wet, dark hair out of his eyes. Then she caressed his face, and tried to open his eyelids. Both she and Belle saw the prince move his legs a little while under her ministrations. He never appeared to regain consciousness, though. Belle would've been utterly glad for that had not she heard Ariel start to sing to him. She teared up at the beautiful sound. While soft, it glided over the water and met her ears with sonorous, heartbreaking warmth. Ariel's voice caressed every note, every vowel, and set Belle's nerve-endings tingling. The prince must have heard her, he being Ariel's intended audience and listening only inches away. He lolled his head toward Ariel. Breath came back to him more and more steadily. Belle fancied that his eyes briefly flicked open and gazed into Ariel's face. At this distance she couldn't be sure; she wished more for Ariel's sake that he had. She deserved it. On this night of disasters, Ariel deserved this gift. The only thing Belle worried about - aside from Triton ordering her head on a platter - was that her friend was fated to be forever dissatisfied with her underwater home. Now that she'd come so close to the world and people she'd dreamed of, one taste wouldn't be enough.

Hope gave Belle a feeble promise when Ariel at last drew away from the prince and, leaving a kiss on his forehead, dove back into the waves. She let go of her rock and went down after her. They quickly spotted each other. After a long shared glance, they found they had nothing to say. Not tonight, at least. Belle squeezed Ariel's hand and led her home.


	4. Chapter 4

All right, another chapter! I admit I wanted to cover more ground storywise here, but I'd rather let everyone know that this fic isn't dead and then just cram a lot of exciting things into the next one. Enjoy!

* * *

On their return to Atlantica, Belle and Ariel were met by the royal guard, including Lt. Sebastian. His black beady eyes betrayed no anger or resentment. They were icy depths that left Belle dreading the worst. Ariel was too dazed to care when the guards swarmed around them and brought them to the palace and the king.

Triton's old face - even merfolk started to age after a hundred years - wrinkled with a scowl and clamped lips. He drummed his fingers on the stem of his trident and beat his tail against the sandy throne room floor.

"It is nearly dawn," he growled.

"Forgive us, your majesty," said Belle, emoting as much humility and remorse as possible. Ariel offered no response.

"I understand that you are young and foolish, but I had hoped you had more sense, Lady Belle." The king huffed through his large nostrils. "It seems I was wrong."

"There was a storm, majesty. It carried us away and we lost track of time."

Triton stomped the butt of the trident. "Of course there was a storm! Of course I let my daughter go into danger with no protection! I blame myself, but that does not excuse you from responsibility!"

Belle meekly confirmed his assessment, as expected. Ariel stayed quiet. Her eyes were fixed on some object that was not her father, and while she did keep her head angled downward, the blank, distant expression illustrated her detachment from the situation and its outcome. Something was bearing her away - maybe a dream she couldn't shake even in her father's presence.

"Lady Belle," said the king, still angry but not as tempestuous, "you will be sent home. Your father will be informed of your disappointing behavior. As for you, Ariel, you will be restricted to your rooms until I say otherwise."

Ariel woke up with fast blinking. "What? Daddy, we didn't do anything wrong!"

"You snuck off early before I said you could. And then, Poseidon help me, you were gone almost all night when I gave you _two_ hours to be at the surface! You most definitely have done something wrong!_ I won't allow it_!"

Belle did not look forward to her father's reprimands, but she did not object to her punishment. She did, amazingly, manage to return Ariel home safe after their human encounter. To reveal that fact, though, would have incurred a penalty far worse than being sent home.

"I'll do anything," said Ariel, desperate and serious. A sob hitched in her throat. "Barnacle duty, snail watch, kitchen clean-up, anything. Don't lock me up like some prisoner. And don't send Belle home, please! We'll make up for it!"

"I have made my decision." King Triton banged his trident twice. The guards closed in around the mermaids. "Have your belongings packed, Lady Belle, before the end of the day. You will not return to Atlantica until I have given you pardon. The same goes for the rest of your family."

Belle felt a figurative punch in the stomach. Her father had never expressed fondness of the capital, yet he often visited for courtly business and to speculate about the market. He was going to be upset. Her older sisters might try to kill her. She cringed and bowed her head. "If there is anything I can do to earn your forgiveness, your majesty, I will comply."

"The best thing you can do is stay away from Ariel, for both your sakes." The king's words sliced deep with their anger and an inkling of disappointment. He took no delight in this. Severe as the sentence was, Belle swallowed her indignation and hurt. As they departed from the throne room, her eyes started to ache with waiting tears.

A soft hand touched her wrist. She looked to see Ariel suffering from the same compulsion to cry. "I'm so sorry, Belle!" she said. "I didn't think it would be this bad."

"Of course you didn't think!" Belle blurted out. "You never do! You never think things can go wrong. Now we won't get to see each other for who knows how long!"

Ariel's pained expression mingled with shock. Belle expected her to retaliate, make a fuss about how this was as much Belle's fault (which it was). Instead, she bit on her lip and looked away.

After some resistance, Belle touched her shoulder. "I'm sorry. It's my fault, too. I let myself get carried away. I didn't think through the consequences. But we're paying the price now, and we have to stay strong. My banishment can't last forever, right?"

"I won't let it," said Ariel. "I'll talk some sense into Daddy. He'll cool down and things will be back to normal."

Belle hoped so. The last thing she wanted was to be always parted from her dear friend, and to share tight quarters with two irate sisters.

* * *

Much to Belle's relief, the king's guard did not bully her as she oversaw the packing of her cosmetics, garments and accessories by her maidservant. He even let her leave her room to say goodbye to Ariel. Had it been Sebastian, he might have made it impossible. She had tricked him, after all, and might have even jeopardized his standing with the king. It worried her, then, to see him standing at the door to the princesses' chambers. She would not be afraid. Belle approached him and wished him good morning.

"Good mornin', Lady Belle," said the cancerean lieutenant dryly, even for him.

"I want to apologize for my insensitive prank last night. It was very unkind to trick you like that. I was just buying Ariel extra time to be at the surface. I didn't realize we would be gone so long, anyway."

"Apology accepted, milady. I was merely followin' orders, and you were tryin' to act in da princess's best interest. While I don't tink it _was_ in da princess's best interest, it's no really me place to criticize tose above me station."

Belle smiled. "You're a good fellow, lieutenant. I wish you the best."

The cancerean nodded, then reached for a pouch on his uniform belt. "Dat reminds me: metinks dis is yours." His claw took out the shell necklace Belle had dropped. "Tought you might still want it back."

"Oh, thank you!" Belle accepted the lost necklace and put it on. "It really was my mother's. I'd hoped you would find it."

"It's me duty to serve, milady." Sebastian tilted his domed head forward. "But I no fool, either. I know ya here to see Princess Ariel."

"Just to say goodbye," Belle quickly said.

"She's not to receive any visitors witout da king's permission." He immediately stepped to the side and opened the door. "You better make it quick."

Belle gaped before regaining her senses. She gave the lieutenant a grateful grin. "You are full of surprises, sir."

"You and da princess are troublesome," said Sebastian in that wry fashion she was starting to appreciate. "But you have a real friendship, metinks. If I may say so, milady, be dat real friend now."

Belle nodded at his advice and swam inside. Yes, she needed to be more than Ariel's partner in crime. She needed to give her what wisdom and comfort she could before their forced separation.

She found Ariel curled up in her shell bed in her private chamber. It wasn't all that private, sadly. The sisters shared what was really one enormous room divided by seaweed curtains - not exactly optimum seclusion. Belle didn't hear or see anyone else on her way through the room. She still spoke in quiet tones. "Hey."

Ariel rolled over with a little shudder. Seeing Belle relaxed her again. "Hey. Oh! You got your necklace back."

Belle smiled and touched it. The sapphire-blue shells complemented the white ones and reminded her of her mother's eyes. A familiar yearning filled her chest. She loved and respected her father, but her mother had understood her better than anyone. She could glimpse into her heart and know what to say to ease her anxieties. They didn't always agree on things; her mother often sided with Maurice when it came to the more traditional roles of a mermaid of noble status. Her greater concern was Belle's tendency to favor tomes, maps and council meetings over excursions with girls her own age. There had been moments, however, when in a breath of tender intimacy her mother held her close and whispered how much she admired Belle. She liked how Belle swam in her own current. She sometimes wished she had been more like her daughter at this age. Belle regarded these loving comments with some skepticism until her mother told her, shortly before she died, that no matter how often other people would push her to do this or that, she alone decided her fate.

"As recalcitrant as you can be," her mother explained, "I know you care about our people and your duty to those you love. That is important. But you've also always decided who you are and want to be. Never change that, sweetie. You'll need that as you get older, and as more is expected of you. It won't be easy. But whatever happens to you, or us, remember that."

She'd followed her mother's advice, even when she let Ariel talk her into things she knew would land them in trouble. Look where it got them. But she wasn't all that sorry. It had been an amazing, harrowing, unforgettable experience. She and Ariel had glimpsed the world that painted their dreams. Banishment would not erase it. With the moment behind them, though, they had to return to their lives. With a quick gulp and letting go of the necklace, Belle settled on the foot of the bed beside Ariel's tail fin.

"I can only stay a minute. I shouldn't even be here."

"I know," said Ariel, propping on her elbows. Her mouth curved into a grin. "I knew you'd come, anyway. I told Sebastian that I'm going to be miserable without you. I guess that's the point - Daddy wants me to be unhappy _and_ more obedient. But you're the only one I can talk to you about . . . things."

"That's actually why I'm here, besides to say goodbye." Belle tried to loosen her muscles. Her anticipation of Ariel's reaction resisted the effort. It took a while to arrange herself on the bed, and she finally had to lounge uncomfortably along the rim of the shell, reasoning that she wouldn't be there long. "The adventure we had up top - it was the most exciting thing I've ever done. I'm not sorry for it, although I feel sorry for those sailors. But . . . now that we've indulged in this indiscretion, you're going to be under more surveillance."

"You mean, the guards are going to be breathing down my neck," Ariel grumbled.

"Exactly. Which means that if anyone finds out about the cave, you'll be in even hotter water."

Ariel scooted closer. "Are you saying I shouldn't go to the cave anymore? Or just not for a while?"

Belle laid her head so the corner of her mouth pressed against the back of her folded hands. Her stomach clenched from what she had to say next. "It's not just about getting caught. If it were, I'd say wait until this blows over. But it's more than that. It might be for the best if we . . . put this whole human thing behind us."

Ariel's face darkened. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe we should start focusing on other things. Humans, fascinating as they are, are not part of our lives. They're just a fantasy for us. And maybe it's time to lay the fantasy to rest."

"Are you saying we should forget about everything? All the things we talked about? What about all our questions? The clothes, the food, the houses, the towns. What about _fire_? And all the things we found - we can't just let them sit there gathering algae!"

"I think we have to." Belle's voice dropped to a whisper.

"No! Not after yesterday! I can't just forget him!" Ariel gasped after the last sentence, then rolled away from Belle. She went still and mum enough to resemble a sea cucumber.

Belle dropped on the squishy mattress and all but climbed on Ariel to look over her hunched shoulders. "What?"

"What?" mumbled Ariel.

"Why did you say, 'I can't just forget him'? _Him_?"

"I meant 'them'. The humans. My souvenirs." Ariel went to whispering, too. She was so stiff even her tail didn't twitch.

Belle felt her throat freezing up. She wrapped a hand around Ariel's arm. "Please, please, please tell me you're not talking about the prince."

Silence answered first. Then a sniffle. Ariel's shoulders began shuddering. Her whole body soon carried the shockwaves of her contained sobs. Panic threatened to rob Belle of her sense and composure. Her normally cool skin heated up, and her heart threatened to explode like a volcano. She focused on breathing to stay calm before gently rolling Ariel back to her. It didn't require much effort. The touch alone had Ariel all but tumbling into Belle's arms.

"It's not like I wanted it to happen! Well, okay, I wanted to see one up close. I just didn't expect to see one so _perfect_. And then I saved him, and I thought he was going to die and I was so scared . . . and then he woke up and I wanted to kiss him so bad. I haven't stopped thinking of him since then. I can't help it! I don't _want_ to help it! What's so terrible, anyway? Don't you remember everything he said? He just wants to be himself and do what he loves. His voice was so bright and strong, but so sad, too. He has to be the saddest thing I've ever seen."

"Really?" said Belle. "I guess I felt bad for him, but he didn't seem miserable."

"That's just it! He did so well pretending he was okay with obeying his parents and going home to a life he doesn't want! He had to put on a convincing front for his friends. That made it even worse!" She suddenly pulled away from Belle's chest to look at her face. Ariel's eyes went wide, emanating awe and desire. They had a burning, frightening effect. "And, oh, Poseidon, is he gorgeous! Not just to look at, either! His skin - I wonder if all humans have skin like that. It was soft and firm like a dolphin, but not so rubbery. He had soft dark hair on his arms and chest. And his legs! They were weird but beautiful. Not like tails at all. They've got long bones and a joint in the middle. And there was something between his legs. His . . . male-bits, I guess. Weird, right? Just out there! No wonder they wear clothes. I didn't peek, I swear. I was curious, but I didn't want him waking up and seeing _that_. But Belle, there's something about the way humans breathe . . . it's hard to explain. Their whole chest moves, and if you put your ear to it you can hear the air rushing in and out. It's like waves on the beach or wind during a storm. Air is so thin - how can humans live on it? Every breath he took, I was afraid it'd be his last. I was so scared for him. Nothing has ever scared me that much. It's crazy, isn't it, to care so much for someone you barely know? But I came close to crying just from worry. Even when he seemed okay, I didn't want to leave. That's love. It has to be. I love him, Belle. I need to find him again. I need to see that he's okay. I need him to know that I saved him and I care for him. He needs to know someone understands how he feels. And if I do find him, we can make peace between humans and merfolk. We won't have to worry anymore about hunters or fishermen."

As she spoke, Ariel relaxed by degrees. Belle stroked her red hair and rubbed her scalp, making Ariel sigh while she paused in her rant. "It's not that simple, you know," she said when her friend trailed off. "Befriending one human doesn't mean the rest of humanity will take Prince Eric's lead."

Ariel groaned and snuggled into the bed. "It _should_ be that simple. Why make things complicated?"

Belle shrugged. "Everybody wants different things. You and I are examples of that."

"But now you've changed your mind. You think we should want what everyone else wants." Ariel deftly crafted her accusation to sound like Belle had committed the worse kind of betrayal without raising her voice to her preferred dramatic pitch.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing." If only it didn't have to go against her inborn curiosity. And if only Belle could say with certainty that their wish to see the world beyond Triton's kingdom was a symptom of youth, not a fixed facet of their personalities. She didn't know either way. "We put ourselves in danger last night. That can't happen again. Your father loves you and wants you to be safe. And if something happened to you because of humans, it would make things even worse."

"So I should resign to being a prisoner for the rest of my life." Ariel snapped her tail to sit up. "Thanks a lot."

"Ariel - "

"That's what it is! Don't tell me it isn't!" The princess's fire suddenly died and was washed over by a cold flood of melancholy. She turned away from Belle to let her tail drape over the bed's edge. "You should go. Sebastian will come in any moment to kick you out."

"Let's not leave things like this." Belle had an idea. She took off her mother's necklace and drew it around Ariel's throat. Ariel gasped but barely turned back round. Her head dropped with shame she tried to hide. When she said nothing, Belle kissed her temple. "Take good care of it. We'll see each other soon."

Ariel's silence stretched on. She held tightly to whatever words she may have wanted to say, of forgiveness or further chastisement. It was a childish tactic with no clear objective. Maybe Ariel was in fact stalling their inevitable farewell, counting on Belle's need for closure to prolong this meeting. But she'd been right about Sebastian, though no restless noise came from the door. For every minute she stayed, Belle increased the chances of having their moment interrupted by a guard. Ariel was already making this a sour parting; blunt interference could not be allowed. Belle stroked Ariel's shoulder one more time. Her fingers memorized the delicate bone poking into the skin of that white slope, which twinkled timidly in the light of the glowing coral torches. The shoulder stood like a frozen mountain. Coral-red tendrils of hair fell past it like a fiery waterfall. Belle brushed her fingers over them, too, before leaving the bedchamber. She swat the seaweed curtain aside and darted to the door without looking at anything but her path of exit. Until the moment after she knocked on it, and when that polished driftwood door swung open for her, she anticipated Ariel's voice calling her back, pleading her to wait so she could swim to her for a proper goodbye hug. Her heart broke to see the door open and hear only the sharkbone hinges creak. Belle left the room. She had just enough patience left to mutter another word of gratitude to Sebastian and wish him well. Mentally she thanked him for his discretion when he returned the gesture and said nothing about the necklace once again missing from her person.

* * *

Half the day was gone by the time the porpoise-drawn carriage brought Belle home. The king's message to her father explaining her return reached the castle before her. Sir Maurice prepared himself and his household with admirable speed to welcome his daughter, which sent Belle into a brief spiral of panic and guilt. She didn't know how much Triton had revealed. Her only choice was to hope that she would have a chance to explain in her own words. Her father, big and heavy-set, embodied warmth and support for Belle since her first memory of him, and it distressed her whenever anxious lines crawled into his face and his complexion turned paler than usual. Her heart hurt worse to see him try to smile through his worry as she disembarked from the carriage and he, outside with servants and counselors, greeted her with an embrace. He and she quickly agreed through whispers and short glances that they would act as though her return were ordinary. They both beamed for everyone to see. Belle shook hands with advisers, aristocrats and visiting nobles with a smile supported on what felt like wobbly stilts. She kept it up unflinchingly until they wormed through the crowd, and then the stone-carved hallways, and found privacy in the parlor of Maurice's personal quarters. It took effort to dodge prying questions and inspecting stares. Belle felt as limp as a beached jellyfish while collapsing onto a settee in the parlor. She groaned with gratitude for the walls that now protected her.

Sir Maurice called for a platter of food to restore his daughter's strength. A look from Belle convinced him to withhold his own pressing need to ask what transpired in Atlantica until she started eating. Belle gobbled down the first few slabs of raw tuna without a shred of the restraint expected of nobles.

"I read the king's message," said Maurice, unable to wait any longer.

She nodded and sighed. Shivers tickled her arms. She stretched her neck to unwind a crick the rushed rough carriage ride beat into her muscles.

"I don't really understand it," Maurice continued. "It's not that I don't believe the king—Poseidon help me if I ever dare say he wasn't being truthful—but what actually happened? Tell me, Belle, please. The truth."

She told him the best she could. The only details left out would've unnecessarily confused and worried him, like the creature Rumplestiltskin and Ariel's infatuation with the human prince. She did reveal that she and Ariel had seen a ship, which Triton did not know, and that the ship had been caught in a storm and torn apart. The crew would've been dead had they not intervened.

"You shouldn't have done that! I know you meant well, but what if they saw you? They would not have shown you such kindness!"

"It was the right thing to do, Papa," said Belle steadily. She had no doubts about that. Besides, the sailors had been in dire peril, and that had served as an effective distraction to protect Ariel and Belle from discovery.

Maurice rubbed his eyes and sagging bag under them. "I am glad to know that your prolonged absence wasn't because you were entertaining yourselves." He helped himself to a seaweed wafer and a glob of fish eggs. "It was still foolish, though. I take it you did not tell the king about that part of your adventure."

"It would've been beyond the pale in his eyes. It meant his daughter had put herself in direct danger, and I doubt he would've forgiven himself. Or me."

"I can hardly blame him. It may be just as well that you will be home for a while. Your sisters will be glad to see you."

Belle raised her eyebrows at that. Right. Sure they would. She didn't dislike her sisters, but they weren't the easiest people to get along with. They both lived close by with their rich husbands, as suited their tastes. She didn't know when they were last in Atlantica—perhaps not in some time, and the notion of visiting would not cross their minds until they learned they would not be allowed to go until Triton lifted the ban.

"Please tell me you haven't sent word of my return to them, " she said, wincing.

"No, but word may reach them soon even without my telling them." Maurice squeezed his beloved youngest daughter's hand. "We are family, though. Family is important. Blood is thicker even than water."

It was his favorite syllogism, and Belle had groaned at it many times. Of course family was important, but there was only so much you could do when your family didn't care for your interests. As unmarried mermaids, Annette and Felicite only ever talked about suitors, fashion and what trinkets to spoil themselves with, and what their suitors would spoil them with. Not much had changed. After her mother's death, Belle had few female companions to seek sound advice from. She'd tried to take this as an opportunity to bond with her older sisters. To no one's surprise, it had been a mistake. Felicite was always the harshest on her, and in fact tried to indoctrinate her with her own attitudes about what a noble mermaid ought to think and talk about, none of which appealed to Belle. Annette did not press as much. She preferred to respond with just confusion or disinterest. It was a wonder they were related or shared the same mother. All three of them loved their mother; it was practically the only common ground they shared. Once that was gone, and both Felicite and Annette had married lords who threw lavish parties and toured foreign seas for the sights, though not so much for intellectual curiosity, Belle had to find other companions. She feared she'd always be alone and feel strange for her interests until she and Ariel crossed paths.

"I'll do what I can," said Belle, "but I'm not as worried about that as I am about Ariel. I feel like I've been forced to abandon her. Maybe this separation will do some good, or maybe it will make things worse. She has her sisters, but they have their own lives and interests. I hate thinking about her being alone."

"Are you forbidden from writing to her?" asked Maurice.

Belle's gasped, making the gills on her neck flutter. "I don't think so. Oh, thank Poseidon! Why hadn't I thought of that?"

She thanked her father, too, with a delighted hug. Feeling suddenly better, she bolted from the chamber to her own room. Her pufferfish-spike stylus let her etch a letter to Ariel into a sheet of seaweed papyrus. Unlike the human books they had found, the merfolk scratched their writings into paper without ink to be later read in front of a light source. As schoolchildren they also learned to read the engravings by touch when no nearby light was available. She finished the letter in under an hour and, after rolling it up in a scroll and tying it with a lock of her hair, as was the way to confirm the sender by the scent and color of the strands, she asked one of the castle's messenger boys to give it to Lt. Sebastian of Atlantica, to deliver to Princess Ariel. It was a gesture to the cancerean that she trusted him with her only means of keeping in contact with her friend. He had it in his power to withhold the letter and tell the king about it. In the letter she told Ariel her expectation that she might not receive a response, depending on Triton's restrictions, but she still wanted her to know that she'd arrived home safely and that she hoped Ariel was managing to entertain herself. Even in her haste to reestablish contact, Belle was careful in her word choice, as though the king had been peeking over her shoulder during composition.

Thanks to what would shortly transpire, Belle never knew if her letter reached Ariel and, if it had, whether the king saw it, too. Many waking nights she wondered if it had set off an unforeseeable chain reaction that led to the events that would irrevocably change their lives. For the week she spent at home, she tried not to think about the letter or Ariel. No mean feat with her sisters' expected indignation from not being able to go to the capital anymore, and their usual jibes at her bookish tastes, which persisted even without a suitable partner. Annette showed some kindness by asking about Ariel and the other princesses and showing concern for Ariel's ongoing detainment. But pity for the princess turned on Belle as an accusatory spear. She should've known better, Annette claimed. Belle was always too determined to do things her own way and never considered how that affected anyone else. The remark cut through Belle's skin and brought her to the edge of snapping and shouting at Annette. Only Felicite's keen eyes watching from across the room or across the table, eager to see her baby sister lose her temper and reveal her inner brat - the brat youngest sisters were expected to be - motivated Belle to bite her tongue. Literally at times.

Her sisters weren't the only ones around to irritate her. Sir Gaston visited her frequently with more determination than ever to establish that they were engaged. The wedding itself was still some time away. Maurice was willing to wait until Belle's twenty-first birthday. Belle had argued that she might fall in love with someone else before then, and if so, she should be allowed to marry that man. She had agreed to the betrothal solely because Gaston's family was well-connected in Atlantica and among foreign diplomats. If Maurice wanted to play a part in fortifying alliances with other kingdoms, he would need to give Gaston's relations reason to commiserate with him. Felicite and Annette also advocated the match and reminded Belle that her pretty face wouldn't last forever. And with her perverse fascination with humans and many other things non-merfolk-related (and non-materialistic), who was likely to fall in love with her?

Sometimes it was too much, and Belle simply had to escape. Deprived of her taboo stash of literary treasure, the castle library and its old volumes of merfolk history and poetry were all she had for consolation. They were better than nothing. They helped take away the acidic sting of her sisters' company and the boredom-induced headache of Gaston's. Sir Maurice also entertained her with his plans of improving the infrastructure of the city and surrounding villages. More children should have opportunities to be educated, even those from the poorest families and poorest settlements. There had been talk among the councilors of encouraging enhancements in underwater agriculture and husbandry. Certain mineral deposits could be tilled and cultivated to grow plants from foreign oceans and introduce non-native fish in a confined but habitable space where they would not be threatened by the local wildlife. The idea truly excited Belle - it meant trading with distant kingdoms, strengthening alliances, and promoting freer travel between them. It could also lead to forming a stronger defense against future sea-dragon attacks.

Belle expected that she would have to take the annoying aspects of being home with the comforts and intrigues, and prepared to make adjustments for the sake of her sanity. Before a week went by, adjustments suddenly became moot. A royal messenger arrived. At first Belle hoped, and then briefly believed, he was bringing a message from Ariel. The truth was the farthest thing from that. It was from King Triton, and it was accompanied by a cancerean guard.

"Lady Belle," said the messenger, decorated in a blood-red, mossy sash of Atlanica's court, "his majesty, King Triton, demands your presence in Atlantica immediately. Her highness, Princess Ariel, has gone missing."


End file.
